(Note on the side: I thought I am not up to date on pop-culture stuff especially since I did not know this world renowned model/ actor and also had to google a phenomenon called Minecraft the other day. You cannot call yourself world renowned if your recognition factor is not higher or equal the recognition factor of a certain movie with this puppet in it. That's how all world renowned Asian celebs should be measured by)

When I stumbled over said article I went “hmm” and kept reading past the headline, then I went scoffingly “pffft” which turned into a frustrated “aaaargh” further in. While reading I caught myself humming “That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain and simultaneously changing the lyrics fitting to the context. I’m quite proud about this multi-tasking feat and that’s why it shall be posted: Okay, so you're a model and PETA campaigner That don't impress me much So you got the looks but no scientific touch Don't get me wrong, yeah I think you're alright But that won't convince me of that vegan might That don't impress me much And that don’t mean that I think that Richie Kul is a stupid model (according to his bio he has studied in Stanford after all). No, not stupid. A wee bit condescending? Yup. A wee bit ignorant? Yup. A wee bit zealous? Yup, yup. (Side note: I like to add the “wee bit” bit to soften the message. Everything sounds more cheerful with a pseudo Scottish Shrek accent.)

To be fair: This article was never meant for people eating meat. This was written for people who have already drunken the Cool-aid. This is a us-versus-them piece: arguing why meat eaters are the dark side and while vegetarians and vegans are of the light turning a mere difference into a big divide.

It creates the picture of an opponent who is a flesh eating, dull, cruel being -- basically dead inside

But paleo meat-eaters can be your friends. I like to view vegetarians especially vegans as a different faction but on the same side. Vegans are like the sparkly perfect skin golden-eyed Cullen vampires and Paleo people are like Blade because he can do one-arm pull-ups and has a samurai sword. Give a me a samurai sword over sparkle skin any time. No matter the difference we all want a better world not ruled by bloodsuckers like Monsanto but with sustainable real food and happy non-anaemic humans. Health for all!

How did Kul-Cullen turn me from pffft to aaargh? He argues like an anti-vaccination leaflet -- it's well meant but also shallow, at times irrational and never backed up by data. The List of arghs:﻿Kul: When whole swaths of people from Hindus in India to strict Buddhists in Taiwan have demonstrated the ability to live full and vital lives based on a vegetarian diet, why be the perpetrators of needless suffering if it can be easily avoided?﻿

I don’t know about the Buddhists in Taiwan but India is quite concerned with its state of health and calls itself “the diabetes capital of the world”. What’s even more interesting is that the diabetes rate and the risk of coronary heart disease in predominantly the vegetarian South of India is significantly higher than in North India. It still needs to be determined if there is a correlation between those figures and the diet in South India

Few sentences later Kul tries to make a case for compassion:The lion may need to kill the gazelle to live another day, but humans can survive just fine without butchering Babe, Nemo, or the gang from Chicken Run. Really? Listing humanised animal characters? That is such a FOX news worthy paltry tug-on-heartstring strategy. Right back at you: What about Bananas in Pyjamas? Mr- Potato Head? Strawberry Shortcake and friends? Ok, Strawberry Shortcake does not really count, but neither does Nemo. Clownfish for meat-eaters is like hula skirts for vegans.Kul: I was raised eating meat […] Once I awakened to that reality, I began to see patterns in history where behaviors were justified because of tradition. Women and African Americans securing the right to vote, interracial marriage – all these present-day no-brainers were previously thought to be outlandish and only came to pass in just the last hundred years. To what kind reality have you awaken? Eating meat is not a tradition! Eating the meat of a fat bird and watching Disney's Pocahontas on Thanksgiving is. Not eating meat is more a tradition as it is often based on cultural beliefs like those aforementioned Buddhists and Hindus. But the act of eating meat stems from the ability to eat and digest meat, and is a marker for the hominin species going back thousands of years. All our cousins from the great ape branch -- chimps, gorillas and and even mild mannered orang-utans eat meat. (If the death of Mufasa was too much for you, this video is not for you). Some argue that this ability is what made us human. (Which isn't necessarily a good thing.)

Speaking of ability:Kul: Would it surprise you to learn that the world record for most consecutive situps (17,003) was set by Alan Jones, a vegetarian? Sigh. I took those 17,003 situps and googled them. Lots of pro-plant-based-diet websites like to list this feat as vegetarians are awesome proof. I further stumbled over another record entry of25,222 straight-legged unsupported situps by Richard John Knecht. That was in the ‘70s in Idaho and he was aged 8 then. Due to those three factors ('70s, Idaho, 8 year old) chances are high that he was not vegetarian. I’m not saying that a vegan cannot excel as an athlete. My favourite example is Scott Jurek who is one of the best ultra-distance trail runners. Some observational studies suggest that a vegetarian diet can be beneficial for endurance disciplines even on elite level. Less so for strength disciplines: There are successful vegetarian and even vegan MMA fighers but as far as I know they are mostly featherweight or super featherweight. Kul also does not mention that being a vegan athlete is actually not that easy. It requires a meticulously well planned diet and supplementation is often necessary. And then of course there is the old protein discussion which always gets me.Kul: There’s a reason for the widespread hesitation, that being the popular perception that vegetables lack the vital nutrients to grow and sustain muscle. And therein lies a major fallacy, for 100 calories of broccoli contains 11.1 grams of protein vs. 6.4 grams for 100 calories of beef, and other plant-based foods demonstrating that same capacity to more than adequately nourish our bodies. The major fallacy here is protein equals protein which is absolute bull. BUUUUUULLLL!!!! The building blocks of our bodies are different types of protein. All protein are made of amino acids. There are 21 of them. Every amino combination makes a different protein and has a different effect. One amino acid chain could be snake poison and another one just gelatine. Nine of those 21 amino acids are essential because our bodies cannot produce them by themselves. We need to get those from our diet. And if you look up USDA’s Agricultural Research Service’s Nutrient Data Laboratory database you will see that 100 calories of broccoli has still less protein and less of those 9 amino acids than 100 calories of meat. I’m not saying broccoli is bad. It’s delish and easy to cook. I'm only saying that you need to eat a lot more broccoli than steak to get the same amount of amino acids. From faux scientific we shift to ethical:

Kul: This is why my work with Change For Animals Foundation, Animals Asia and PETA is particularly poignant for me. […] All of these beautiful beings, whether they have glossy soft coats, floppy ears, or button noses instead of snouts or beaks or feathers, have a desire to live and be loved. So why be selective in our compassion when non-animal based products abound? Because dog meat does not taste as good as bacon. Ok aside from that, I understand that for Kul pets and farm animals are equally precious. But under this premise how can one justify that PETA euthanizes thousands of cats and dogs each year in their shelters? Worse their shelters have only a 1% adoption rate. The desire to live and be loved is not really met here, especially given the fact that PETA has long been accused of stealing animals from their owners and putting them to death. PETA argues that euthanasia is the humane thing to do. It is almost ironic that later Kul labels the term "humane" as an alibi term especially when it comes to humanely raised meat."Humanely raised is a concept developed to assuage yuppie consciences”he goes on“The idyllic notion that humane farmers love their little charges is a rather preposterous one, because you don’t actively and intentionally hurt or harm those that you love. Yes, people who do that are called psychos. What’s love got to do with it? I doubt that humane farmers would use the word love. There is a line. Even Kul allows himself to make an emotional distinction between a tree and a chicken. Although love cannot be the positive guideline for a farmer, a ethical framework could: Acknowledging that carrots and cattle are life, and that it takes life to sustain life. Joe Salatin, a spokesperson for humane farming and the owner of Polyface farm, refers to responsibility:

Our first responsibility is to try to figure out what kind of a habitat allows them to fully express their physiological distinctiveness. The cow doesn’t eat corn; she doesn’t eat dead cows; she doesn’t eat cow manure, which is what is currently being fed to cows in the industrial food system. We feed cows grass, and that honors and respects the cow-ness of the cow. […]

A culture like ours—that views plants and animals as inanimate piles of protoplasmic structure to be manipulated however cleverly we, in our hubris, can imagine—will soon view its citizens and other cultures in the same kind of disrespectful way.

Here we come together as Kul ends his article with a similar message :When you live a happy, vibrant, healthy life full of energy and contentment, you do more to advance whatever cause is dearest to your hearts because people around you will actively seek out the secret behind the positive force you project to the world.And Amen to that.